Hi Linda,
For as long as I have been playing golf I have understood
that you may not touch the ground in a water hazard (in fact any hazard), and
when I later became a bit more familiar with the rules of golf, I found Rule
13-4: “A player must not touch the ground in the hazard, or water in the water
hazard with his hand or a club.”
So I was surprised when someone recently pointed out that
they believed it is OK to touch the grass
in a water hazard, e.g., with a practice swing, citing the Note that follows
Exception 3 to Rule 13-4: “At any time…the player may touch, with a club or
otherwise, any obstruction, any construction…or any grass, bush or tree or
other growing thing.”
That paragraph seems to contradict Rule 13-4b, or am I missing
something?
Best regards as always,
Lou from West Wickham, England
Dear Lou,
It’s not a contradiction, Lou. There’s a difference between
touching the ground and touching
something above the ground that is
growing out of the ground. There is no penalty if you take a practice swing in
a hazard and your club grazes the top of the grass (or strikes a bush, a tree,
or anything else that’s growing in the hazard); your club has not touched the
ground. However (and you know there always has to be a “however”), if you
happen to flatten the grass near your ball with your practice swing, thereby
improving the area of your intended swing, you cannot avoid a two-stroke
penalty [Decision 13-4/4]. If a player improves his lie, stance, or area of
intended swing in the hazard with his practice swing, or if he tests the
condition of the hazard, he has breached Rule 13-2.
Your safest bet is to take your practice swing outside the
hazard. But if you like to take a practice swing just prior to hitting your
ball, choke down on your club a bit, stand away from your ball, and take a
swing that lightly brushes the top of the grass. Your friend knows his stuff.
Linda
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